Otatara School going wild! Tarata - 11 March 2019
Each classroom at Otatara School is named after a native plant and each class has been given a potted plant and is visiting the Community Nursery and Education Centre as part of their inquiry learning. First off the blocks was Room 14 Tarata (Lemonwood) with teacher Tracey Maclennan. On a hot fine afternoon on 11 March Room 14 brought out their lunch after which we did a range of activities starting with a leaf quiz identifying tarata by its leaves and seeds and also looking at a range of plants that look similar. The class came with lots of questions from their enquiries so far and we discussed some of these in the Education Centre followed by a walk exploring the bush looking for tarata and wondering why it grows in certain places and not others. Generally it is not found in the dark bush but grows as a fast colonising species in open ground - https://www.southlandcommunitynursery.org.nz/how-forests-work/. During the bush walk, a student came upon a strange creature, which after sending a photo to Ruud Kleinpaste “the BUG Man” and our patron, was identified as a giant scale insect - http://www.terrain.net.nz/friends-of-te-henui-group/local-insects/scale-great-giant-scale-coelostomidia-zealandica.html. You just never know what you are going to find in the bush! Great enthusiasm and lots of great questions made it a fun afternoon for all and lots of follow up activities in the classroom are planned. It is great to see the local school connecting with their local environment.
Chris and Bronwyn
Posted: 19 March 2019